While a certain percentage of fans rejoiced on Sunday night when Colorado fired head football coach Jon Embree, current players who took to Twitter were almost unanimous in their displeasure or surprise about the news.

Senior linebacker Doug Rippy, who has always been a vocal supporter of Embree, Tweeted: "I can't believe that he is gone man! He did a lot for this team man. People outside the program don't know.

"Coach Embree if you see this I appreciate everything you done for the team and I! We will stand strong and you were not only a good coach but a great mentor!"

Colorado went 1-11 this season, the worst record in program history. Embree, a former CU player and assistant coach, was 4-21 in his two seasons.

True freshman quarterback Shane Dillon, who some believe is the favorite to win the starting job for 2013, threw out his support for Embree, as well.

Dillon Tweeted: "The amount of respect and support we have for that man is something u guys don't understand...

"#BuffNation we need u all the most right now! Stay true to what we started when we all decided to come here!! Embo would want that the most!"

Receiver Paul Richardson, who missed the 2012 season with a knee injury, was also disappointed with the news on Sunday night. He Tweeted: "I'm going to miss Coach Embree! The best head coach I've had so far, on and off the field! And best staff as a whole!

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"A third coaching staff? I pray for better days, but I'm gonna continue working out and grinding hard in the class room."

Former quarterback Tyler Hansen, who played under Embree in 2011, echoed the current players and added, "He did soo much! still in shock over this should have gave him much more time and I truly believe that.Now CU will loose a number of players like we did and it will take more time to rebuild. This is just wrong. Embree and his whole staff did so much and it was a matter of time before wins came"

Hansen might be right about players leaving. True freshman cornerback Jeff Hall tweeted, "What college need a new corner ?"

When one of his followers asked if he was leaving the program, Hall responded, "yeah that's what it lookin like. I came here for the coach.. No reason to stay.. My playin time was messed over anyway.."

Hall later backed off a bit, tweeting, "So many thoughts goin through right now.."

Verbal commits for the 2013 class seemed to be mixed over the news.

Wide receiver Devin Ross, who gave a verbal commitment to the Buffs for the class of 2013, was already looking at other schools because of CU's dismal season. He said he will continue to look at CU and others, but wasn't too surprised about the decision.

"I really like coach Embree and everything, it's just the way his team looked, they looked undisciplined and everything, so I guess it was bound to happen, if not sooner than later," Ross said in a phone interview. "They have to move on, I guess.

"I committed before the season started because, I knew they weren't going to be like a great team, but I thought they were going to be like rebuilding this year, pretty decent, but not horrible. They were pretty disappointing this year to me."

Denver South running back Phillip Lindsay said he didn't agree with the decision. Reached by phone, Lindsay said, "I feel it was kind of unfair for Jon Embree to get fired after only two of years of trying to rebuild, but I can't sit there and I can't dwell on it.

"At this point, yes I am, I'm going to stay committed to Colorado. Either way the program has to be turned around. I made a commitment to turn the program around."

Former CU defensive lineman Matt McChesney did not hide his disappointment this season. On Sunday night, he said in a phone interview, "I'm not shocked (Embree was fired). It's just the capper on the worst season ever. Might as well have happened.

"I'm not in favor of firing him after two years. I think that it's a little hasty, even though they were 4-21 in two years. That being said, can you really blame them?"

Like all Buffs -- current and former -- McChesney is hopeful that better days are ahead soon. But, he said CU needs to open up its wallet and make that happen.

"I think that they just need to pony up and spend big money and go get somebody with a huge name," he said. "I don't know who that person is, whether it's Jon Gruden or Bobby Petrino or whoever, I don't even care at this point. But get somebody that when a recruit sees that name hired by the University of Colorado that they go, 'Wow, they're going to do something at CU and I want to be a part of that.' That's the only way you're getting out of this hole.

"This is America. If you throw money at problems, the problems go away."

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